Heretofore, an outlet tap provided with a timer for interrupting the power supply of each of electrical appliances has been known as a power source cut-off device for interrupting the power supply of each of the electrical appliances. In this case, such a power source cut-off device merely performs an on/off switching operation of each of the electrical appliances according to a preset time schedule of the timer. Due to this, this conventional type of power source cut-off device fails to take countermeasure against the failure of cut-off or interrupting operation of the power supply of each electrical appliance at a time when the user goes out of his or her house.
On the other hand, the whole of today's society becomes a family-centered or a person-centered system. A family is a core of this system. In a house of the family, a so called “home automation” is now being realized. In such a home automation, the house of each family is linked to a global network.
The term “home automation” means a centralized control system in which all the electrical household appliances are connected with each other through a home network. In the case where such control system is realized, it is possible for a user, who is at a site away from his or her house, to interrupt the power supply of the electrical appliance of the house even when the electrical appliance is not switched off when the user goes out of the house.
However, with respect to an electrical appliance to be controlled in the home automation, it is necessary for such an electrical appliance to have a special means for communicating with a master computer in control. Due to this, it is not possible for the user to use his or her current electrical appliances, which appliances the user has already possessed in his or her house. In other words, the home automation is essentially introduced into a newly built house. In addition, the home automation is considerably expensive in its introduction into the house. Due to this, it seems probable that some considerable period of time is required in the spread of the home automation in use in the public at large.
Further, it seems that various data processing techniques such as a voice recognition technique, a data processing technique of human-sensibility information and the like are required in a realization of the home automation. Consequently, it will be very hard for an advanced-age user for example to understand and use the system of home automation since such an advanced-age user is generally unwilling to use a computer.
Under such circumstances, the present invention was made. Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide an outlet tap, a power source cut-off system and a power source cut-off method, which enables the user being at a site away from his or her house to interrupt the power supply of the electrical appliance in the user's house in order to prevent a bad fire from occurring in the user's house while he or she is absent even when he or she fails to switch off the power supply of the electrical appliance in going out of his or her house, wherein the electrical appliance comprises an electric heater, an electric cooking stove, an electric iron and like electrical household appliances used at elevated temperature in the user's house.